If you already have the base game for Romance of the Three Kingdoms XIII (a title that we enjoyed a great deal when we reviewed it), you owe it to yourself to consider this DLC expansion then. It is a fairly pricey pack, but it brings a lot of great new options to the table and makes the core experience considerably better. And isn't that exactly what we want? DLC that actually adds something to a game we already enjoy, and not just frivolous weapons or costumes? In my case, the answer to that question is a definitive 'yes'.

The Romance of the Three Kingdoms XIII - Fame and Strategy Expansion Pack (here to be referred to as 'Expansion Pack' the rest of the way), adds a great deal of depth to an already dauntingly rich and complex title. Having weighed in on and played multiple versions of the Romance and Nobunaga titles, I enjoy both - but for me the story of Romance of the Three Kingdoms has always been more engaging. This is in large part because of the characters involved, and the Expansion Pack places the majority of its focus on these characters, which is an excellent decision.

Battles strategies and city simulations are still at the heart of what you do here, but the Expansion Pack provides more of a focus on these characters and their relationships between epic battles as well. To their credit, Koei Tecmo manages to introduce an all new prestige system to what was already a very complex video game, and that can be a dicey proposition. Balance and accessibility immediately become concerns, but kudos to the team for thoroughly thinking this content out.

The prestige mechanic actually opens up Officer Play to a host of new options and makes the experience more of a role-playing one now instead. Instead of simply feeling as though you are being dragged along through a series of per-determined historical events, you can form relationships, have children and just in general create a richer, more meaningful gaming experience out of the core title.

While this was undoubtedly my favorite of the new additions (it plays into my love of RPGs so nicely), there are plenty of other tweaks and changes introduced by the Expansion Pack as well. There are additional scenarios, some newly integrated strategies for combat (specifically trap-like in nature), a more robust war council and more. These are perhaps not as important as the aforementioned office improvements, but they are welcome tweaks that make the overall experience far more interesting overall.

Another fantastic new feature worth talking about is the scenario editor. Create your own events and conflicts. Elevate generals to leadership roles they never achieved, create impossibly challenging scenarios and just about anything else you can imagine. This really is a free-for-all in terms of its many options. While this is a powerful and welcome tool, the scenario editor is reflective of the core game. That means that while there is a lot of meat to it, there is a learning curve here as well. Just as the core Romance experience is a slow burn that takes time to get going, the scenario editor really does take quite the time investment to get the most out of it. Still, for those who want to experience some unique scenarios that don't play out anything like history remembers, this is a fantastic way to add mileage to an already lengthy game.

Romance of the Three Kingdoms XIII - Fame and Strategy Expansion Pack is really my idea of great DLC. Much more than some cosmetic bonuses, you get something that actually adds depth and replay value to a base game. It manages to execute these changes without breaking the original title's balance, and even gives it an RPG-like flavor that was missing before. It's not often that you find DLC that does so many things to enhance a title without any negative impact, but here it is. Fans of the core game really should check this out.